


Odium of the Innocent

by BittyBlueEyes



Series: Eleven and His Rose [6]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-18
Updated: 2015-08-19
Packaged: 2018-04-15 10:33:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4603497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BittyBlueEyes/pseuds/BittyBlueEyes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Doctor takes Rose out for some fun, but they miss their destination point by a bit. They try not to draw attention to themselves, but something else draws attention for them. --After Part 1, the series can be read in any order.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story has a different tone than the rest of my stories. When you see the setting for the story, you might think it turns into a Doctor whump, but I promise it doesn't.

“Here we are, Rose Tyler,” the Doctor announced as he opened the TARDIS door. “Torgau, Germany in 1627.”

“Yeah, but why here and now exactly?”

“I told you - to see the opera! The first German opera, written by Heinrich Schütz,” he explained with excitement.

“Yes, but you said that it’s a libretto based on the Italian opera Dafne. Not that I don’t like Germany, but why wouldn’t you want to see the Italian one?” asked Rose.

“Well, I already saw it. But this is great! Heinrich did it so well that the Italians later translated _his_ version back into Italian. It’ll be great! Now… Where is the court? I thought I parked us close…”

“Is that it down there?” Rose suggested as she pointed down the road at a large building.

“Perhaps,” the Doctor said thoughtfully.

“Well, we better go find it. I didn’t dress up for nothing.” Rose twirled and the skirt of her dress fluttered up. It was lovely looking with lace and poofy sleeves that were fashionable for the time, but Rose found the lace itchy and the sleeves irritating. She didn’t dress up for nothing.

“Watch your twirling. If your dress goes too high, it could be a scandal,” the Doctor warned as they started walking down the street in the direction Rose had pointed.

“Right, because we never cause scandals,” she teased.

“We cause too many. This is just a nice trip to the opera.”

Rose looked about her as they walked. The homes were all very cute, but the people entering and exiting them were not what she’d expected. They looked poor, sad, and starving. She knew it was due to the Thirty Years’ War and bad crops, but the way the Doctor had talked about an opera at the court for a wedding celebration, she’d assumed it would be in an affluent part of town. She felt overdressed and bad about flaunting it in front of people who were struggling just to get by.

The Doctor stopped in his tracks when a certain church came into view. “No… No, we’re not in the right place. Let’s get back to the TARDIS.”

The Doctor took her hand and started leading her, but she stole her hand back to lift her skirts and keep up with his pace.

“What’s wrong? Not 1627? Not Germany?” Rose inquired.

“1627 Germany, but not Torgau. We’re in Würzburg. Not a good place to be.”

“Well, slow down a second and explain it to me.” Rose stopped trying keep up. She still moved swiftly, but she didn’t feel like running in her uncomfortable low heeled boots if she didn’t have to.

“You’ve heard of witch hunts, yes?”

“Yes.”

“Well, Würzburg is the worst of them. In a span of five years, they killed off 900 people. Men, women, and children. If we stand out at all…well, that wouldn’t be good,” the Doctor explained.

“You somehow put us in the most dangerous town that we could land in for this time period? How’d you manage that?” Rose chuckled and shook her head.

“Hush, you. I was thinking 1627 Germany. I must have just mixed up the coordinates in my head. Where we wanted to go and where we definitely didn’t want to go.”

“Alright. So are we going to shoot for Torgau again? Or are we going somewhere else?”

“Well, witch hunts aren’t just in this town. Maybe it’s be better if we see an opera somewhere else,” the Doctor decided.

"We could always see Barber of Seville. I haven't seen that one yet. Figaro, Figaro, Figaro."

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "That seems to be the only part of the whole opera that anyone remembers."

"Well, there's the other part of the song 'La la la la la la la LA!" Rose laughed and skipped to catch up with him. "I'd know more if you took me to see it."

"Alright. Il barbiere di Siviglia it is. Would you like opening night or-"

"Doctor," Rose said anxiously.

The Doctor knew that tone of voice and turned to her immediately. A black shadow circled around her feet and rose up to her ankles like mist. Rose tried stepping backward out of it, but it followed, continually circling.

"Doctor?" Rose's voice wavered in a higher pitch.

"Get out of it!" the Doctor ordered.

"I'm trying!"

"Run!" The Doctor took her by the hand and started running across the center of the square. But the shadow could not be out run. The shadow circled around her faster, rising from her ankles up to her head. As soon as it reached the top of her, it swirled back down in a flash and Rose was gone.

The Doctor put his head in his hands and groaned. They were just supposed to go to the opera.

"Witch! He's a witch!" a child called across the square.

The Doctor looked up and saw that a crowd had gathered all around the square. The boy that cried out was pointing at him. Following his accusation, a number of other people echoed the claim. Others just stared in fright.

"Me?" the Doctor asked, pointing at himself. "Well, yes, I suppose it would look like that... Not to worry though! I'm heading out right now. Never to come back. Promise."

The TARDIS was just on the edge of the square so he made a run for it. Before he got there, he was seized by two men from the crowd.

"Oh, this just isn't fair," the Doctor moaned. "Alright, fine. I'm a witch. Take me off to witch jail."

The Doctor walked awkwardly between the men. They had such a tight grip on him that each of their steps were pulling him off balance. He became concerned when he realized they were taking him directly to the courthouse.

"Hold on! Hold on!" He stopped walking and tried to pull back. "I'm not supposed to get a hearing yet. I'm supposed to go to witch jail. You've got one, I know. Prison just for witches. Trials don't happen right away; there's a queue. It takes weeks, months, or even a year to get a trial date. You're taking me to the wrong place. Witch jail. Witch jail."

The men didn't stop walking and just continued pulling the Doctor along with them. They didn't speak a word until they were in the courtroom, where it appeared there was already a trial in session.

"What is this?" the judge demanded.

"Your honor, this man's a witch," one of the men spoke up.

"I applaud you for restraining him, but he belongs in prison. He'll -"

"See, I told you," the Doctor told them both. "Witch jail. Off we go!"

"You don't understand, your honor," the man continued. "We've never seen such dark magic before. He made a woman disappear in dark smoke in the middle of the town square. Over a dozen people witnessed it. What's more, he already made a confession."

"Vanish in dark smoke? And he admitted to it?" the judge echoed in shock. No one ever confessed so easily. Some people died of torture without ever confessing.

"We thought of taking him to prison, but if he can make people vanish, we were worried he might disappear, too," the other man said.

"The woman completely disappeared?" the stunned judge asked again.

"Completely," the first man confirmed.

"Take this child back to prison. I will see him next," the judge finally decided. "This powerful witch comes first."

The Doctor wanted to argue that he could wait, but he looked at the boy, no older than ten, and couldn't let court sentence him. Prison was dangerous because of unsanitary conditions, insects, and lack of food, but it was better than the torture they'd put him through after he'd had his trial. It made the Doctor sick. These people were sick.

The courtroom was cleared except for the judge, the Doctor, two guards, and the two men that brought him in. One of the guards approached him and clamped heavy shackles on his wrists.

"Let us start with your name, witch," said the judge.

"Aw, really?" the Doctor whinged. "I'd really rather not be remembered in this."

"Your name," the judge demanded.

"Fine. I'm the Doctor."

"Not your occupation. Your name."

"No, but that is my name. The. Doctor. That's me."

The judge looked like he was about to push the subject further, but the Doctor spoke first. "Look. I really am 'The Doctor' but even if you don't believe me, I've seen your records. 'Wandering boy, twelve years of age' 'A little maiden nine years of age' What's wrong with 'The Doctor'? Heh, I'm 'The Witch Doctor'." The Doctor chuckled to himself.

"Do you find this amusing?" snapped the judge.

"A bit," the Doctor admitted.

"You won't find it so amusing when we're through," the judge threatened.

"Alright, let's get on with it." The Doctor sighed and looked around. He noticed then that people were filing into the courtroom to watch.

"These two men claim that you destroyed a woman with dark magic. Do you confess?" the judge challenged him.

"Actually, they said that I made her disappear. I'll go ahead and take the blame for that. Why not? But I didn't destroy her. She's still alive," the Doctor claimed.

He knew it was dangerous to plead guilty because the penalty was death, but it was much more dangerous to plead innocent. To plead innocent meant that they tortured you until you confessed. At one point in history, there was a time limit on how long a person could be subjected to torture. If they lasted through that without confessing to being a witch, it was a sign of their devotion to God and God's protection over them. At this point, they would torture you until you confessed or until you died. Once you were accused, there was no coming out alive. Personally, the Doctor would prefer to skip the torture.

"Alive, you claim?" the judge asked dubiously.

"Yeah, I just sort of 'poofed' her. Completely by accident. We were having a game and she just 'poofed'," the Doctor said with a shrug.

"You claim you didn't kill her?"

"I've already answered that. She's still alive, just somewhere else. I wouldn't kill her. I like her."

"If she's still alive, where is she?" the judge asked suspiciously.

"Well, that's a bit of a problem. I'm not exactly sure," the Doctor confessed.

"And you expect us to believe you?"

"I said I'm not sure _exactly_ , but I do have a rough idea. My guess is, she's about one and a half miles into the forest to the east. I'm not sure which direction, but about one and a half miles in. Likely with a few other women."

"Other women?"

"Yeah, there has to have been other women going missing recently, right? The last week or so?" the Doctor asked.

"Are you saying that there are other witches doing this, too?"

"What?" the Doctor asked in surprise. They wanted him to accuse others of witchcraft. "Are you kidding? All me. I don't even know anyone around here. My friend and I just decided to visit for awhile and things just sort of happened."

"Your friend, is she a witch then?"

"No, don't be ridiculous. She's as sweet as they come. I couldn't have poofed her if she was a witch."

"So you still claim that you're a witch?"

The Doctor sighed. "Usually people only have to tell you once, but yes, I'm a witch. So what happens now?"

"I still have more questions."

The judge carried on for quite some time, asking the Doctor a number of ridiculous questions. What did the devil promise him in exchange for his soul? Did the devil keep his promise? Where did he first pledge himself to the devil? To all of these he claimed that he never had and didn't need to. He was just born with the gift.

The questions got weirder. Did he have sex with the devil? Was he baptized by the devil? Did the devil give him gifts? Did he turn anyone into demons? The Doctor couldn't believe what he was hearing and answered "no" to each of them.

"I said I'm a witch. I told you what I did. I didn't do anything else. I had no help from anyone. What more do you need to convict me? Just send me off to witch jail and ready the post that you're going to burn me at."

"I'm afraid that we'll have to find other devices to get a true confession," the judge declared.

"What? You mean torture?" the Doctor asked in disbelief.

"If that's what you wish to call it," the judge confirmed.

"But I confessed. You don't torture people to confess something when they've already confessed!" the Doctor argued heatedly.

"You claim to be a witch, but you do not admit to consorting with the devil. You also will not give any other names of those you practice dark magic with."

"Fine. I met the devil in a street alley and he gave me sweets. He then splashed me with water. That was my baptism. I turned a little dog into a demon, but he was hit by a carriage and died. And I don't do magic with anyone here because I'm from out of town."

"Take him," the judge ordered the guards. "Use whatever means necessary to get a true confession out of him."

As the Doctor was led out of the courthouse, only one thought came to him. 'Please, Rose, figure it out... I'm going to need you sooner than I thought.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more reminder - no whump. 
> 
> Also, the historical facts in this story are true. I know the questions that the judge asked in the courtroom were really weird and seem farfetched, but I do a lot of research when writing fanfics, especially fanfics with historical settings. Those are actual questions that were asked at that place and time. So were the numbers of people tried. Over 300 children (as young as 3 and 4) were said to have had sex with the devil or hummed songs with the devil, ect. Witch hunts were absolutely horrific. This was a repulsive time and place.


	2. Chapter 2

Rose stumbled back a couple steps and blinked in surprise when the shadow released her. Her sudden arrival was met by a chorus of shrieks and she turned around to find a few women clustered together. She wasn’t the only one that had been taken then. A quick count told her that there were eight including herself.

“Hello,” Rose greeted uncertainly. No one responded right away, but she really hadn’t expected them to. They all looked too terrified.

Rose took the opportunity to have a look around. They were obviously in a forest, pinned into a small circular clearing by large tall trees. The trees weren’t what was holding them in though. The shadow that had abducted her was circling the trees in and endless loop. They were caged.

“Alright… This is interesting,” Rose commented in frustration. “Just fantastic…”

“Fantastic?” one of the women snapped angrily.

She looked like she was ready to continue fuming, but Rose cut in. “It was an ironic statement. Well, it’s not fantastic, but it is curious. Right… time to figure this out. So…”

Rose took a look at the shadow and then the women, trying to figure out where to start. “First question: Has anyone been injured by this thing? Has it physically harmed anyone?”

The women looked around at each other but eventually they all shook their heads.

“Has it done anything except circle around you?”

They looked at each other again for a consensus, but before they could answer ‘no’, a young woman at the back reminded them all, “They offered us food and water.”

“What?” Rose asked in surprise. The women parted so that Rose could see a pile of fruits and bread and a jug that she assumed contained water. “That is definitely interesting. It hasn’t harmed us and has provided food. This might not be so bad.”

“Might not be so bad?” another woman said heatedly. “We’ve been stolen away by evil demons and they’re tempting us with food!”

“Tempting you? You mean none of you have eaten it?” Rose asked.

Five of the women looked accusingly at the last two.

“I don’t see anything wrong with it,” Rose said with a shrug. “It didn’t harm you, right? It seems to me that it wants us for something and it needs us intact. It can’t use you if you die of starvation.”

“I would rather die than be used by the demons!” a woman claimed.

“For goodness sake, just because it’s dark and you’ve never seen something like it doesn’t mean it’s a demon. It’s a being of some kind and there’s something it needs.”

“Look at her! She shows no fear! She has familiarity with demons! She’s a witch!” The women backed away from Rose and she rolled her eyes in exasperation.

“That doesn’t make any sense. If it’s a demon, it wouldn’t kidnap a witch. Either it’s not a demon or I’m not a witch. OR I’m not a witch _and_ it’s not a demon. You people are so quick to blame anyone or anything that causes you the littlest bit of fear. I’m not scared because it hasn’t done anything sinister yet. I’ve seen a lot of things while traveling and not everything is as scary as it looks. Now stop being afraid of me; I’m trying to figure out how to get us out of this.

“Next question… Women. Why just women? No girls even, just grown women. Lots of tales mention stealing virgins, but that’s not me, so… maybe the reverse? Is anyone here a virgin?”

Two young women raised their hands.

“Nothing to do with virginity,” Rose concluded. “So what else do we have in common? Or what sets us apart from men? Different hormones and sex organs… But I don’t know how that would matter. We’ll hold onto that and come back to it. Us. It’s a town full of women, why us? What do we have in common?”

Rose looked around at the women. They all looked different. Different height, different age, different hair color, different eye color.

“Okay, what if it was something we were doing? What were you doing when you were taken?” asked Rose.

“I was doing the wash.”

“Sweeping the floor.”

“Mending socks.”

Rose shook her head. She just couldn’t make sense of it. It wasn’t location or what task they were doing. What was she doing that might have attracted it? She was talking with the Doctor as they walked toward the TARDIS. They were talking about the opera and she poking fun at it. Singing that silly-

“Singing,” said Rose. “Do any of you sing while you do chores? Were any of you singing? Raise your hand.”

All but one raised her hand, but she admitted, “I was whistling.”

“Yes!” Rose exclaimed excitedly. “We might be getting somewhere. Think about what you were singing and whistling. Was it a happy tune or more melancholy? Happy tune, raise your hand.”

Every hand went up and Rose bounced with excitement. “I’m convinced more than ever that this isn’t an ‘evil’ being. It wants happy. There are some creatures out there that live off of misery, but this one wants happy. Understandably. Your town is filled with nothing but misery, fear, and suffering. It wants happy people, but what for? What does it want us to do?”

“Do you think they want us to sing _now_?” one of the young women asked.

“I guess it’s worth a try, but I get the feeling that it’s something more…” Rose thought it over some more, pushing her mind to consider absolutely everything. “Wait. You all keep saying ‘they’, not ‘it’. Are there more than one?”

“Yes.”

“How do you know?” Rose inquired.

“Someone new is brought in by one demon, but the circle around us never breaks. We’ve also tried running through them. Once we get on the other side, one puts us back in, but the circle that cages us never breaks,” one of them explained.

“Fantastic. Let’s find out how many there are,” Rose suggested.

“How do we do that?”

“We all run out at the same time. They’ll try to catch us all, but if they can only take one person at a time-“

“Then some of us might escape!” one woman exclaimed.

“Well, it’s worth a try,” said Rose. She didn’t think any of them would actually make it back to town. The beings would just go back and forth to collect them. She just wanted a count. If there were four beings, likely three be taken back at a time. “Okay, on the count of three, we all run out this side. If anyone makes it back to town, tell them where the rest of us are.”

Rose counted and they ran. Every single woman was transferred back into the clearing without the containment circle ever breaking.

“Okay… There are nine or more of them,” Rose concluded.

“We’re never getting out!” a woman cried in dismay.

“I never said that and I definitely don’t believe it. If only I knew what they needed from us. Wait… If they need us for something, maybe they need one woman per being? They still outnumber us. Maybe they’re keeping us here until they’ve collected enough women to accommodate them all?”

“Dear Lord Almighty, save us!”

Rose turned to look at them and every single one was on her knees praying.

“They look like they can survive alright without a host, so what do they do with us? Possess us and…?” Rose scrubbed her face in frustration. She didn’t have enough pieces of the puzzle to put it all together. “Okay, time to try something new. I’m going to try to communicate with them.”

“I knew it! She’s a witch!” the one woman accused again.

“Give it a rest,” Rose moaned. She was becoming exhausted by their quick, fear-induced judgments and she was beyond frustrated at the way they labeled themselves as victims and made only the most feeble attempts to get out of the situation. They’d rather die of starvation than consider possibilities outside of their assumptions.

“These are not demons and I’m not a bloody witch. I just want to get out of here. Now hush up and let me concentrate.” Rose took a deep breath and began addressing the beings. “Okay, erm, hi. I’m Rose and I’d really like to speak with you. I’m going to guess that you’re telepathic. I’m not, but I’m sure you realize that. Well, that’s not entirely true. Humans are very, very low-level telepathic. I cannot communicate with you that way, but if your telepathy is strong enough, you can speak to me that way. If you can, please, just tell me what it is that you’d like from us. I want to help, but I have to know what you need.”

Rose closed her eyes and bowed her head as she concentrated very hard on receiving any message they might try to give her. She waited a couple minutes, but she didn’t feel or see anything.

“Okay. That’s okay, but I hope that you can still understand me,” Rose persisted. “I’m not from around here. I travel everywhere. If I’m right, the fear and suffering of this town is causing you distress. I’m sure you’d like to go someplace better, someplace with more joy. I can help with that. I travel with a man called the Doctor. He saves people, people of all kinds, beings like you that need help. If you’d like to go somewhere that you wouldn’t suffer like this anymore, we can find you the perfect place. Somewhere on Earth or…”

Rose glanced over her shoulder, knowing she’d definitely be called a witch for this one. “We travel the stars. There are planets with towns that I’ve seen where people sing and dance all the time. War never seems to find them. They live peacefully. I’ve never found Utopia, but I know a few places that come pretty close to those ideals. The Doctor and I could take you there. If you are telepathic, then you can know that I speak the truth. I have no intention of harming you. I only want to help. For me to do that though, I need to go to town to get the Doctor. Will you allow it?”

Rose tried listening for a response in her mind again, but got nothing. Deciding that it couldn’t hurt to try, she stepped toward the ring of beings. Just before she touched it, it moved a step away from her. She took another step forward and the circle moved again. Rose beamed with excitement, but someone behind her had screamed. All the women were still on their knees praying and when the circle moved forward for Rose, it came closer to the woman on the other side.

“Get up. We’re going back to town,” Rose announced with a wide grin.

“I don’t want to go anywhere with you! If you can command the demons, then take them and leave, witch!”

Rose shook her head in disbelief. “I don’t command them. I asked them and they’re kind enough to comply. You could try to leave, but I have a feeling they’ll bring you right back. You’re their insurance that I keep my promise. Look at it this way though: once we get back to town, I’m leaving and taking the ‘demons’ with me. You won’t see us again. So let’s get going.”

Rose moved forward and the circle kept moving out in front of her. Two of the women were obstinate and didn’t move, but when the circle moved past them, two of the shadows swooped them up and put them back in the center of the circle. After a couple of meters, Rose stopped.

“This is kind of embarrassing, but I don’t know where town is from here. Do you think you could lead the way?” Rose requested.

The circle began moving again and Rose and the women followed its course. Rose couldn’t believe that her offer actually worked. She was completely honest and meant to back up her offer if there was any possible way (and the Doctor better find a way), but most people/beings/creatures were too wary of easy, peaceful solutions to accept them.

Now they just needed to get back to town in a timely manner. There was little doubt in Rose’s mind that the Doctor was in trouble. He was right next to her when she was taken. Any idiot in that witch hunting town would call him a witch. And that’s what they were, all of them: idiots.

“I’m coming, Doctor,” she whispered.

To cheer the beings and keep her own spirit up, Rose whistled on their walk back to town.


	3. Chapter 3

The Doctor was finally escorted to ‘witch jail’ but not like he’d wanted. Instead of being put in a cell, he was shown to the torture chamber. He looked around at all the instruments of torture and felt sick. He didn’t want to suffer. He really, really didn’t wasn’t to suffer, but he also thought of the countless people who had already been tortured and hundreds more that would undergo the same treatment. He was accused of being evil, but anyone that had a hand in putting a person here to be tortured, they were the truly evil ones.

“Okay, explain this to me again,” the Doctor requested. “I’m supposed to make a confession of some kind. What do you want me to say?”

“It’s your confession. You tell the truth,” one of the men answered as he circled around the Doctor. The Doctor tried to turn to keep his eye on him, but the other man seized him by the bowtie. He held up a knife and before the Doctor could protest, he cut off the Doctor’s bowtie.

“Hey, I don’t think that was necessary! That was-“

The man behind the Doctor had a knife of his own. He started at the collar of his jacket and cut down the full length of the sleeve.

“No! Not my jacket! I love my jacket!”

With both arms sliced, the jacket fell to the floor without having to remove the Doctor’s shackles.

“I know you’re supposed to torture me, but my jacket?” The Doctor sighed. “Alright. Back to this confession. How do you know that it’s a real confession? I could tell you anything. How do you know that it’s real?”

“We’ll know.”

“Yes, but how? How am I supposed to know what to say if I don’t know what will convince you?” the Doctor argued. “Just give me an example of how I should say it? Is there a certain order I do it in or something?”

“I say we press him,” one man said to the other.

“Yeah, but we have to be careful not to go too far. I get the idea that Prince-Bishop will want to make an example of him.”

“You’re not answering me,” the Doctor pointed out as they laid him face-up on the ground with his hands above his head. They placed a large board over him, covering him from the neck down. “I asked for an example. Tell me how most confessions go. Is there a special order that I’m supposed to say things in or do I just start talking?”

“You haven’t stopped talking,” one of them men grumbled. He and the other man were struggling with a thick stone slab. It was heavy enough that they had to inch along together to carry it.

“Okay,” said the Doctor. “Let me think. You want to know where I first met the devil, right? Well… I met him in a forest. No, down by a lake. In a forest down by the-“

The Doctor flinched when they placed the heavy stone on the board, positioned right on his chest.

“Yeah, thanks. You’re interrupting my confession. So like I was saying… I met the devil in a forest down by a lake.”

“Nice try. There’s no lake in the forest.” The men went to fetch another stone.

“Well, not in this one,” the Doctor huffed and rolled his eyes. “I already said that I’m not from around here. The devil doesn’t visit people in just one town. Back to my confession, if I may. I met the devil down by the lake in a forest. Um… what did we do? He offered me a gift for my soul. Yeah, he gave me… a magical box that I could use to fly from place to place.” The Doctor smiled at his own cleverness. “Is that alright then? Does that count as my confession?”

The men were above him with the stone. They both shook their heads and placed the second stone down.

“You’ve got to be kidding me! I made my confession. I thought it was pretty good!”

“Another stone?” one man asked the other.

“We don’t want to crush him,” the other man worried. “Not if they want him alive.”

“But look at him. He’s not even short of breath. He’s talking without struggle and he was even smiling.”

“It still doesn’t feel good,” the Doctor told them. “If it means anything, it’s very, very uncomfortable. Anyway, you don’t need any more. I’ve made my confession so you can tell the judge.”

“You made it up,” the first man claimed.

“Of course I didn’t. Why would you think that?”

“You show no sign of penitence. You confess like it’s no matter at all.”

“Of course I’m not penitent; I’m a witch!” the Doctor said in frustration. “The whole point of being a witch is to denounce God and stuff. If I worshiped God, then I might feel bad about the stuff I do. But the thing is, I’m a witch and I’m not sorry. I thought that was pretty clear in the courtroom. Did I look ashamed when I claimed to be a witch? No. Because I’m not ashamed. So you have my proud confession. Go tell the-“

The Doctor coughed when they laid the third incredibly heavy stone on top of the other two.

“Please?” the Doctor asked. “Go tell the judge. Let him decide if my confession is good enough.”

The men stared at the Doctor in disbelief. No one survived three stones placed directly on the chest. Two stones were suffocating and often cracked ribs. No one lasted more than two minutes under three stones.

“I don’t understand… This is impossible,” said one man.

“As you can see, it is possible. Now, the judge?” the Doctor persisted.

The men continued to stare and the Doctor sighed, letting his head rest back on the floor. The pressure was intense and it was starting to get a bit painful, but it wasn’t life threatening. If they had another stone to add, he might start having problems with his ribs. He wasn’t about to tell them that or one of them might decide to sit on the stack. Time Lords weren’t like humans. He could endure a lot more. He thought of the time that he’d jumped out of an aircraft, smashed through the glass dome of a building, and landed flat on his chest at the Master’s feet. He’d hopped up without a single fractured bone. He had a few scratches from the glass, but no internal injuries. That was the thing though… he could withstand many things, but he had little resistance to lacerations. He knew many of the ways they tortured people. He didn’t want to be repeated stabbed with needles or worse, have his flesh stripped with red hot pincers. They were very inventive. The possibilities were endless.

“What do we do next?” one of the men asked.

“I don’t know. I guess we should put the stones back first. I just… He’s not even breathing hard.”

“How are things proceeding?” a different voice spoke up. The Doctor recognized it as the voice of the judge.

The Doctor tried to look at him but couldn’t see beyond the board and stones. “I confessed! I told them where I met the devil and what he gave me and stuff. Am I done now?”

The judge stepped back in shock when he saw the position the Doctor was in and how casually he spoke.

“I said, am I done now?” the Doctor repeated.

“We’ve never seen anything like it,” one of the men told the judge. “He’s just been laying there for several minutes now. Well, not just laying; the guy doesn’t stop talking, but he’s not showing any signs of distress.”

“I confessed!” the Doctor shouted in frustration. “I met the devil down by a lake in a forest and he gave me a magical box that flies in exchange for my soul. He baptized me in the lake. I am a soulless, monstrous witch. There’s my confession. Can you sock me away in a cell now? Go prepare a pole to burn me at and let’s move things along.”

“And what exactly is your rush?” a new voice inquired.

“I don’t know that voice. Obviously, I can’t see you. Who are you?”

“I’m the one that will oversee your death,” he answered.

“Oh, you,” the Doctor said in disgust.

“A moment ago you were asking to hurry the proceedings. It suddenly seems upsetting?”

“No, just you. I know who you are. Philipp Adolf von Ehrenberg the Prince-Bishop of Würzburg. I may be a witch, but there’s not a soul on Earth more despicable than you.” The Doctor glared in the man’s direction even though it couldn’t be seen.

“Of course you would feel that way,” said the Prince-Bishop. “It’s my job to see to the destruction of your kind.”

“It’s not the destruction of my kind that bothers me, it’s the way you destroy the innocent. You see witches where there aren’t any.”

“I see a witch before me now,” he said.

“Yes, and I’m the first you’ve ever seen. I’m probably the only real witch you’ll ever see, but that won’t stop you from going on killing everyone.”

“I think a bath would be good for this one,” the Prince-Bishop suggested.

“Ah, I see, now you’re just being spiteful,” the Doctor huffed. “I confessed willingly from the start and I was still sentenced to torture. I’ve never stopped being willing to confess. I’m shouting my confession after torture, but you want to torture me more. You call yourselves good Christians, but you’re sadists. Didn’t Jesus tell people to repent and be forgiven? Christians are supposed to aspire to be like him. I bet if Jesus showed up in this town today, you convict him of blasphemy. If he did a miracle, you’d call him a witch and burn him. You’re not looking to please God; you just like to watch people suffer.”

“Hurry up with that bath,” the Prince-Bishop ordered.

The Doctor could see a man out of the corner of his eye. He was building a fire under a bathtub while the first two men that were torturing him slowly removed the stones. As soon as the board was taken off of him, the two men jerked him up to his feet. The Doctor took deep breaths to expand his chest again. His whole upper body ached, but he was no worse for the wear.

“Okay," the Doctor said, turning to the judge and the Prince-Bishop. “I thought my confession was perfect so I really don’t see what the point of going on is. If there’s something else you’d like me to confess, just ask me and I’ll tell you. I don’t need to be put through pain to confess.”

The Doctor was grabbed by the collar again and his shirt sleeves were sliced so it could easily be removed.

“He didn’t answer me yet. You’re preparing me prematurely,” the Doctor spoke to the man behind him.

“You’re fine,” the Prince-Bishop assured the man. “Continue.”

“Fine!” the Doctor spat angrily. “But if you want me to remove my trousers, I can do that myself without ripping them.”

The Doctor bent down and started untying his shoelaces. “So, go ahead,” the Doctor prompted the judge and Prince-Bishop. “If you’re going to interrogate me, then get started. I told you where I met the devil and what he gave me. What else?”

“You admitted to destroying people. What other types of dark magic did you perform?” asked the judge.

“I’m sorry, but I have to correct you again. I didn’t destroy the women, I made them disappear into the forest. They’re all there and they’re all safe so someone should be looking for them. Someone is looking for them, right? Hopefully a large search party. Please? My friend’s out there.”

“What do you care if they’re found?” the Prince-Bishop asked suspiciously. “You’re the one that put them there.”

“I just told you, my friend is out there. I want to make sure she’s safe.”

“If you want her safe then why did you perform black magic on her?”

“It’s like I said, I didn’t mean to. Before you go on saying that I’m claiming to be innocent, I do make stuff happen on purpose, but making my friend disappear was an honest mistake and I want her to be safe.”

The Doctor had finished removing his trousers and stared at the tub. The water looked innocent as did the a few squeezed limes that were floating in it. But it was likely that there was a lot more lime juice in it and the water would be hotter than it looked. The water was obviously meant to burn and destroy skin, but alpha hydroxy acid from the lime juice was meant to tighten the skin and help the skin to peel. It was as deathly as the pressing.

“Okay, let me go on with my confession. I don’t do much more magic-y stuff, but I still do crazy stuff. I mean wicked stuff. I-“

“Into the tub,” the judge ordered.

The Doctor sighed and walked over to the tub. It was likely the only time they’d seen anyone follow the order and not have to be forcefully placed in it. The Doctor stuck in one foot and hissed at the heated temperature. Slowly he stepped in and even more slowly sat down.

“55º C. Or 130º F? No, you don’t measure temperature like that yet. Anyway, not exactly my favorite heat setting,” he said with a grimace. It was hot and uncomfortable, especially the bottom which was just above the flames, but Time Lords could withstand both extreme heat and extreme cold. “You know, speaking of crazy stuff I’ve done, one time, on the S.S.Pentallian, I was actually flooded with a piece of burning sun. It was so hot that when I opened my eyes, light beams shot out of them. That’s pretty witchcraft-y right? That can be part of my confession, right?”

“You’re not burning,” the judge said in confusion.

“Didn’t you just hear me? I took in a burning piece of the sun and didn’t die. A hot bath isn’t going to kill me. If it makes you feel any better though, it’s still unpleasant.”

“I’ve never seen such witchcraft!” the judge exclaimed.

“I know, I’m pretty powerful, right? Back to my confession. I… dance around fires naked. I speak with demons. I know the future. And… I really don’t know what else to say. I do lots of stuff. No more ideas are coming to me right now. It really doesn’t matter if I tell you _everything_ though, does it? I mean, I do lots of stuff. Can that count?”

“How do you resist the pain?” the Prince-Bishop demanded.

“I was just…” The Doctor was going to say that he was born that way, but thought better of it. “The devil’s good to me. Looks after me and all, you know.”

“There must be others that practice with you. I want names.” The Prince-Bishop looked livid.

“Right, names… Well, there’s really only one other witch that I hang out with. Her name’s Blon Fel-Fotch. You think I’m bad? She cut off a woman’s skin and wore it around. She’s a murderous one.”

“And where did you meet her?”

“London, England.”

“But she lives here now?”

“No, last I saw her was in Cardiff, Wales. It’s like I keep saying, I’m a traveler. I haven’t been here long at all.”

“You expect us to believe you?” asked the Prince-Bishop.

“Why not? It’s true. I like to travel. I’m a traveler.”

“You speak very good German for a visitor. You don’t have even a hint of an accent,” the judge commented suspiciously.

“I’m just talented. Look I’ll say it in English, ‘I’m a witch.’ Now Spanish, ‘Soy una bruja.’ French, ‘Je suis une sorcière.’ Italian, ‘Sono una strega.’”

“Stop him!” one of the torturers pleaded. “He’s casting a spell on us!”

“Oh, come on, that was Italian,” the Doctor whined. “You can’t punish me for speaking Italian. The pope speaks Italian. I’ve confessed all that I’ve got. Can I get out now?”

“Not yet,” said the judge. “I want to know more about this woman friend of yours. If she’s traveling with you, she must know you’re a witch.”

“That’s not a question, but yes, she knows.”

“That makes her a witch then,” the judge stated.

“No, no, I just bring her along with me. I don’t give her a choice. She’s stuck with me. Not a witch. She’s sweet. Dead sweet. She’d never become a witch. In fact, she tries to keep me in line. I’m not very good at listening sometimes, but she tries and can manage to cool me down if I get crazy.”

The judge looked at the Prince-Bishop for his opinion.

“We’ll have her tried,” the Prince-Bishop declared.

“No! Not Rose!” the Doctor said furiously while jumping to his feet. With so much pressure on the soles of his feet, the heat of the fire below started getting more intense, but he didn’t let it show. “You won’t even give her a chance to prove she’s innocent and she is!”

“I didn’t say you could get out yet!” the Prince-Bishop said angrily.

“Oh, come off. This interrogation is over. I’ve told you all I’ve got. I was playing friendly. But threatening Rose? If you don’t take me out soon, I _will_ start casting spells. Do you want to see that? How would you like to vanish into the forest Prince-Bishop? Dozens of people saw me do it right before their eyes. If you don’t think I can, go ask them. Ask them about the swirling smoke that caused a girl to vanish. That was nothing. I can do _much_ worse. You consider hurting Rose and you’ll see just how wicked I can be.”

“We’re done. I can’t stand another minute of listening to his nonsense,” said the Prince-Bishop. “I want a pole in front of the church in less than an hour. Do you understand?”

The torturers nodded and scrambled from the room. The Doctor was just about to put one foot in his trousers when another man came in and seized him. The Doctor brought his trousers with him as he was escorted from the room. Finally, he was taken to a cell. It wasn’t that he ever really wanted to be there. He just wanted a cell to buy him some time before the trial and keep him out of the torture chamber. He was incredibly lucky in the torture chamber, but the Prince-Bishop ordered for his death to take place in less than an hour. It was a lot sooner than he anticipated. He had less than an hour to figure out how to survive it. He’d been hoping for his clever, clever Rose to help him out somehow, but she might not get out of the forest in time. How was he going to get out of this?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize if the languages weren't correct. I just used google translate.


	4. Chapter 4

The Doctor paced his cell as he tried to think of a way to escape. Time was passing quickly and a group of people were already preparing a stake and wood to burn him. He could easily manage a bath with a temperature of 55º C but fire that was about 1100º C... that was another matter. He would be able to survive it much longer than a human could, but it would be excruciating and definitely kill him in the end. Well, it wouldn't kill him; it would cause him to regenerate. That still felt like dying. And Rose... what would she think if he regenerated? She'd been with this version of him far, far, _far_ longer than any of his previous incarnations, including the Meta-crisis Doctor. What if she didn't like him as much when he regenerated? Maybe if he focused his thoughts on what he wanted to be like, it could influence the transformation. What would Rose like best though?

'I love the Doctor, no matter his face. You are and always have been my Doctor and I will love you for the rest of my life,' she had told him. He hoped it was true.

He had no plan of escape just then, but that didn't mean he'd accepted defeat yet. He'd have to figure it out as he went. He was good at making things up as he went along. And he hadn't given up on Rose's assistance either. She was clever and resourceful and had saved his life countless times. He couldn't help thinking of the possibility of death, but he wasn't ready to accept it.

Two prison guards came to retrieve him a short time later and led him the short walk over to the church. There in the church yard he saw the tall, thick post that had been driven into the ground and near it were bundles of sticks, bundles of hay, and a pile of large logs. They were thorough.

All around the church yard, a very large crowd gathered. The Doctor shook his head in dismay. Humans could be so compassionate and intelligent, but they also had the ability to be cruel, narrow-minded, and stubborn. These people were fearful and easily led so when their church leaders fiercely proclaimed what was right and wrong, they simply accepted that this mass killing was justifiable.

The Doctor then noticed the judge and the Prince-Bishop standing near the church entrance and that was where he was taken.

"You, witch, have professed to committing acts of witchcraft," the Prince-Bishop said loud enough for everyone to hear. "You have confessed to dealings with the devil. You have denounced the Lord God and our Savior, Jesus Christ. God's word commands, 'Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.' Therefore you are sentenced to death by burning."

The Prince-Bishop paused, expecting him to beg for his life or curse God or something, but the Doctor shrugged. "You can try, but I think you'll be surprised."

"Tie him up," the Prince-Bishop ordered.

The Doctor was taken to the post by four men and made to stand on a wooden stool with his back against the post. They removed his shackles, but there was no possible way for him to escape. They wrapped a rope twice around his chest, and then tightly bound his wrists behind his back. He watched as they set up layers of logs, sticks, and hay. When the men declared the preparations complete, one of the men approached with a lit torch.

"May you suffer for eternity in hell," said the Prince-Bishop.

"Same to you," the Doctor returned.

The Prince-Bishop waved his hand and the man with the torch brought the fire down to ignite the hay. The Doctor was starting to worry and his mind was racing as he considered his best strategy. He waited a few moments for the fire to really spread around the front. He wished he had his shoes, but bare feet would have to do. They hadn't thought to bind his feet. Whether they hadn't considered it or simply forgot, it was to his advantage. He wiggled his body lower and began kicking the blazing sticks away. Once he cleared a few in the front, he gripped the pole with his feet and pushed his body upward. It was extremely difficult because of how tightly his chest was bound and it took a lot of leg strength to grip the pole hard enough with his feet, but he managed it. Inch by inch, he slowly shimmied up the pole. The crowd was shouting furiously, as was the Prince-Bishop.

The Prince-Bishop had ordered the men to push the piles of burning sticks back into place.  The moment they accomplished the task, the Prince-Bishop commanded that they pull the Doctor back down on the pole. By that time, the flames were too high for the men to reach him. The Doctor kept scooting higher. The flames kept rising, but so did he. When he neared the top, he started shifting his weight from side to side. It took a lot of swaying, but finally, the post began slightly rocking back and forth with his motions. Progress was slow, very slow, but he thought he might just manage to get out of this. Well, manage to get down. They might just end up throwing him in the flames when he got down, but he was buying himself time.

^*^*^*^

Rose and the group of women with her walked into town. As soon as their feet touched the city street, the shadow beings stopped leading the way. It was up to Rose to figure out where to go. It wasn't a difficult decision. She could hear loud, angry yelling coming a short way down the street. It had to be the Doctor.

"We need to move fast," Rose told the beings. She began running toward the noise and the beings easily kept up. The women had no choice but to keep pace with them. When they arrived at the church, the people's angry shouts turned into terrified shrieks, no doubt because of the wide ring of circling shadows. Rose only had eyes for the Doctor. She knew she should be concerned, but she couldn't help laughing at his position. He was nearly at the top of the tall stake and was swaying back and forth. She could hardly stop laughing enough to make her request to the beings.

"That's him there," Rose told the beings, pointing at the Doctor. "I'm sorry to ask more favors, but he can't help you if they kill him. Can you get him down?"

One of the beings broke free from the circle and sped off in the direction of Rose's pointing finger. The black smoke circled him like it had circled her and when the Doctor vanished, he appeared at Rose's side. Rose was still chuckling.

"Oh, the trouble you get into," she teased. "I thought we were just supposed to see an opera."

The Doctor leaned forward and kissed her on the head. "You, Rose Tyler, are brilliant!"

"Seize them!" the Prince-Bishop ordered.

A few men approached them, but all of them were hesitant to get too close.

"Help us!" the women in the circle started crying out. "This woman is a witch! She commands the demons! They locked us away in the forest! Please! Let us out!"

One of the women made a dash for it, hoping that someone could grab her and keep her from being pulled into the circle again. One man took hold of her, but the being still circled the woman and placed her in the circle again.

After seeing this, all the men that had considered seizing Rose and the Doctor took a few steps back.

"I told you that you'd be surprised," the Doctor told the Prince-Bishop. "Surprise!"

"You said your friend wasn't a witch!"

"Friend?" asked Rose. " _Just_ friend?"

"Well, I was trying to convince them you weren't a witch. Telling them you're my wife would guarantee your death sentence," the Doctor explained. He turned to address the Prince-Bishop. "And she's not a witch. Well, I guess by your standards, maybe a bit... But she's still sweet and keeps me in line."

"And you commit these despicable deeds with no shame whatsoever?!" the judge shouted in outrage.

"Of course not. I'm a witch. The only reason the other people you condemned felt penitent was because they weren't actually witches. They felt ashamed for confessing when they were innocent. Stupid judges and priests." The Doctor shook his head in disgust while Rose worked on untying the rope that was still binding his wrists.

"Besides," the Doctor continued, "we might be doing magic, but we haven't hurt anyone. As you can see, these women were safe in the forest like I said all along."

"We're doing magic?" Rose quietly teased.

"Of course we are. We're controlling demons. Very clever, friendly, not-so-demon demons," he replied. "And very good at figuring them out. Very clever. Well done."

"Well, I don't know everything, but I-"

"You claim the women are safe, yet you keep them captive. Release them!" the Prince-Bishop demanded.

"I'm working on it," the Doctor said irritably. "Not because you ask me to, of course. It's just time to let them out. Just be quiet for a minute while I negotiate with these dear little things."

Rose finally managed to unbind the rope and the Doctor clapped his hands together and approached the edge of the circle.

"Hello, dear ones," the Doctor addressed them. "I'm the Doctor and I know just what you are. It's not hard to understand that you're suffering in this environment. Your plan with the human females is very clever, but I think I can make things easier and better for you. I have a comfortable vessel to transport you in and my ship can take you anywhere in an instant. I have a few amazing homes you might like, but one that I think you'll love best of all. If you think you could trust my word, it would be my pleasure to be your realtor. If you agree, would you please release everyone but Rose and myself from your circle?"

The moment he asked, the circle shrunk, putting all but Rose and the Doctor on the outside. The women immediately fled away from them.

"Now," said the Doctor. "I'd like to say it's been a pleasure, but quite honestly, you're rubbish hosts. I think it's time that we were going. Toodle-oo."

"Toodle-oo?" Rose chuckled as she and the Doctor began walking down the street toward the TARDIS.

"Stop them!" the Prince-Bishop commanded. "Every citizen, go block their path!"

The crowd was terrified, but followed after them. Some were brave enough to run up the sides to get in front of them, but there weren't enough to block their path, and they jumped out of the way when Rose and the Doctor got too close to them.

"Oh no! My jacket," the Doctor groaned. "They didn't search my pockets. My stuff is still in witch jail. I'm afraid we're going to have to make a detour."

"Don't worry about it," said Rose. "You start prepping the TARDIS and I'll grab your stuff."

Without having to ask for protection, the beings split their numbers between the Doctor and Rose when Rose stepped away. She looked around for a moment, but before she could ask the Doctor for directions, the beings around her began to lead the way. One man stepped forward to grab her, believing she was weaker on her own, but the circle expanded, throwing the man back. Rose smirked and quietly thanked her protectors.

The Doctor returned to the TARDIS and stopped outside the door. There, he politely asked the beings to wait outside for him. He did his best to explain that it was for his own security and theirs. The ship was telepathic and could be overwhelming for them without a vessel. He opened the door and the beings circled the TARDIS until he returned.

"Alright, Doctor," Rose said when he emerged. "It appears your jacket has been mutilated, but I brought the sonic screwdriver and psychic paper. I'm worried though. If that's the state of your jacket, are you alright?"

Rose stroked his cheek and he smiled down at her. "I can't say it was fun, but I'm just fine. _My_ concern is, did you get my Slinky, too?"

Rose grinned and shook her head in amusement as she offered him the little, metal toy spring. “Not only that, I used your sonic to free the rest of the ‘witches’ there,” she whispered to him. “I told them to run and not stop until they found a safer town. I was worried about a tiny girl in there, but turns out her mum was there, too. I really hope they make it.”

“Good. Very good.”

Rose looked at the semi-transparent rubber ball that was tucked under his arm and had to ask, "What is that?"

"Transport for the Chenocks," he answered, spinning the ball on his finger.

"Chenocks? Obviously, that's what these beings are, but a bit more explanation?"

"They're tree spirits, well, sort of. They live inside the trees, feeding on the life energy of the tree. It doesn't harm the tree though. In fact, it helps the trees grow bigger and stronger than they would on their own. They're sort of like the mythical Greek dryads. They prefer privacy. As I'm sure you realize, they become distressed by negative emotion. This town is overwhelmed by it. It's causing them pain."

"Yeah, it makes sense. Those trees that were surrounding us were tall and healthy looking, but when I looked up, the tops of the trees were completely dead. I thought it was strange, but didn't put things together. If they're suffering though, why don't they just go somewhere else?"

"Once they bind to a tree, they can't go further than about one and a half miles from it. Not without a little help," he explained.

"The women. They possess the women to make them travel. But why just women? Why not men?"

"Well, what are the physical differences? What do women have that men don't?"

"Erm... vagina, ovaries, a uterus, a-"

"Uterus," the Doctor confirmed. "The brain is where most beings settle when possessing someone, but the Chenocks’ telepathic abilities are very limited and the brain is too overwhelming. They prefer more comfortable travel. If babies find the womb a comforting place, why wouldn't the Chenocks? From there, they control women more through emotions than thoughts."

Rose's nose scrunched in distaste at the thought of her uterus being used in such a way, but pushed the thought aside. "So once they find a good spot, they let the women go?"

"Yep. No harm done. They'd have to do quite a bit of traveling to escape misery in this time period though. It's nice that we'll be able to give them a hand."

"So that ball is like an artificial womb that will hold them all?"

"Yep. Brilliant, isn't it? It needs to be held at all times though. They need to be able to connect to someone's emotions like they connect to the energy of trees. Think you can handle that?"

"Sure," Rose said with a shrug as she accepted the ball. "Erm, in you go, Chenocks?"

At Rose's words, the Chenocks dove into the ball in one long string.

"Seize them!" the Prince-Bishop ordered. The Doctor and Rose had nearly forgotten that they were being watched by nearly the entire population of the city. _Almost_ forgot. The Doctor snatched his sonic screwdriver out of the pocket of his trousers and held it out threateningly.

"Don't step any closer or you'll regret it," he warned. "You've seen what we can do. Just because the 'demons' disappeared for a moment, doesn't mean we're defenseless. Anyway, what concern are we to you? We're leaving your town and taking the 'demons' with us. Happy ending for everyone."

"'Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.'" the Prince-Bishop repeated the scripture.

"Yeah, that's what you keep saying," the Doctor said irritably. "And that's the only thing you're planting in the minds of these people. What they need to learn about is God's love, forgiveness, and protection, but the only thing you're teaching is fear and God's wrath. You're pressuring them to find witches where there aren't any. They're so scared that they cry 'witch' whenever they see something that scares them or something they can't understand. Then there are other people that are vengeful that point out someone they don't like and accuse them of being a witch.

"There are no witches in this town! Well, apart from me and Rose, but we're just passing through."

"You would say that," said the Prince-Bishop. "You're trying to protect other witches."

"I'm not. I'm trying to protect the innocent!"

"What do you care about the innocent? It's your job to torture them!"

"No, it's _your_ job to torture them. You have a special room dedicated to it. No, _my_ job is to do whatever I want. I don't want to hurt people. I just like to have a good time. No, it's you, _you_ who care nothing about the innocent. I mean, think about it, people! He has a system so that if anyone is accused, they have no chance of coming out alive. The accusation can be a lie! But that person is tortured until they're in such excruciating pain that all they want is to die. They give a false confession so that they don't have to suffer anymore. If they never confess, they die during torture. And they're forced to give names in their confession! They'll say anything to make the pain stop, remember? They'll accuse more people that are innocent and the circle never stops!

"Think about it! I'm a real witch. Have you ever seen anyone in this town use magic like mine? No! Why? Because there have never been any witches in this town before me! Stop being so thick! You accuse three and four-year-olds of having sex with the devil when they don't even know what sex is! And when are they ever out of the care of their parents? You accuse people that can't even read of reading spells and signing contracts with the devil. Be smart!"

"Don't listen to this man! He is a lying witch!" the Prince-Bishop declared.

"You'd know, Philipp, wouldn't you?"

"Do not address me so informally!"

"But why? We're on the same level, aren't we? But, no, I guess we're not. I'm just a witch; you're far more evil than I could ever be," the Doctor claimed.

"Me? Evil?" the Prince-Bishop laughed. "I am a high power of the Catholic Church, a pure and sinless man appointed by God to-"

"1 John 1:8-10 -  _'If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar and His word has no place in our lives.'_ You just claimed to be sinless and with that statement you called God a liar." The Doctor recited the scripture without hesitation. "The bible also calls you out as a priest: _'You Pharisees and teachers are in for trouble! You’re nothing but show-offs. You’re like tombs that have been whitewashed. On the outside they are beautiful, but inside they are full of bones and filth. That’s what you are like. Outside you look good, but inside you are evil and only pretend to be good.'_ Ha! What do you say to that?"

The crowd was murmuring to one another and the Prince-Bishop looked around uncertainly.

"I don't need the scripture to call you out though. Being a witch, I know evil better than the lot of you. Your esteemed Prince-Bishop is even worse than a witch. He takes people he knows to be innocent, gives them no chance to defend themselves, and sends them off to be tortured. He is pleased at each person sent to suffer under his rule. The people are beaten, stabbed, burned, and worse. They're only allowed to leave when their spirits are completely broken. The Prince-Bishop feeds off their misery and struts with pride of having put them there. What's more, he's paid to do it! What does he exchange for his soul? Money!"

"How dare you!" the Prince-Bishop bellowed in outrage. "Lies!"

"Which part?" asked the Doctor. "Do you get paid for your job? Don't you get profit for every 'witch' that dies under your orders? Is that a lie? Be truthful now."

"Of course I get paid, but that doesn't mean-"

"What about torturing people? People are tortured under you rule, right? Has anyone been accused and lived?" the Doctor paused for an answer, but none was given. "Over a hundred have been accused already. Has anyone lived?"

"They were all guilty," the Prince-Bishop declared.

"Even the toddlers? What could their confessions have been? Did you execute the sixth-month-old yet? I don't know when that's supposed to happen. I know the future. This evil being is in office for eight years and in a five year period, 900 people die. Not one person accused is given the chance to prove their innocence. If you people don't do something to stop him, it _will_ happen."

"I am not evil!" the Prince-Bishop shouted in fury.

"You know what I have to say to that?" the Doctor asked. "Prove it. I, Philipp, formally accuse you of doing evil deeds. You ignore God's law and distort the meanings of the scripture. You punish the innocent and receive payment for doing it. You can say you're innocent, but I say 'prove it!'

"And, you! All you people here! You've heard my accusation. I say to you, ‘make him prove it!' Do you want to live under the rule of a corrupt priest that has doomed himself to hell and means to kill hundreds of you? Be smart! Put him on trial.

"Now... I think I've said far more than enough," the Doctor said calmly. "We'll be going now."

The Doctor opened the TARDIS door and was halfway in when Rose tugged at his arm.

"Make it snow," she said with a mischievous grin.

"It's July," he whispered back.

"So?"

"It'll turn to rain by the time it gets low enough for them to see."

"Sleet then. Or hail? Not large hail, I don't want anyone hurt. But you're a witch. Come on."

Rose looked so giddy and excited... The Doctor smirked and shook his head. "The things I do for you... I think if I set it just perfectly... just right... snow."

Snow began falling over the town and its people and they looked panicked, but at least no one screamed.

"Right... Now I'm leaving for real. Just remember me well. The only real witch you'll ever see... except for Philipp. Make him prove it." the Doctor backed into the TARDIS, waving as he disappeared inside.

"Merry Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight!" Rose curtsied and followed the Doctor into the TARDIS. As soon as the door closed, she burst out laughing. "We've had some pretty crazy adventures, but this one? We're witches!"

The Doctor started laughing, too. "Pretty crazy, yeah?"

Rose calmed herself down as she began thinking of the seriousness of it all. "You are okay, aren't you? I was pretty worried about you when I was stuck in the woods."

"Yeah, I'm perfectly fine," he assured her with a smile.

"No, really though. They took your clothes off to torture you, right? Are you _really_ okay?" Rose caressed his cheek and ran her hand down his bare chest as she looked for any damage.

"No physical damage. Hurt a tad bit. More uncomfortable than actual pain. You know me; I'm pretty tough."

Rose got up on her toes and kissed him.

"So, are we ready to find the Chenocks a new home?" Rose asked as she held up the ball that she had tucked under her arm.

"I know the perfect place. We'll be there in just about two minutes," the Doctor said and he began prepping the TARDIS for travel.

"So... You seem to know biblical scripture pretty well. I think I might have been as surprised as them."

"Of course I know it. I've read the bible before. I read everything. Pretty good read, actually. Well, the Old Testament laws and genealogy are really dull, but the stories and morals and stuff, it's pretty good. And you know me, if I read it, I know it. It just sort of sticks like that," the Doctor explained.

"So what's the outcome?" Rose asked. "You really stepped out there in attempt to rewrite history. Did it work?"

"I'm not sure," the Doctor admitted. The TARDIS was already in flight, so he went around to the monitor to have a search. "Ha! It did work! Philipp Adolf von Ehrenberg the Prince-Bishop of Würzburg was removed from office due to the demands of the people of Würzburg and other towns in the diocese. He was put to death two years later. Three judges in the diocese were sentenced also. There were still a few witch trials over the next few years, but nothing near the 900 that would have died!"

"Then that trip was definitely better than an opera. You are amazing."

“I like to think so,” the Doctor agreed. “And you are, too. And so are you, Chenocks! We couldn’t have done it without you. Ready to have a look at your new home?”

“Where are we?” asked Rose.

“The planet Parn.”

“Oh, I love Parn! You guys are sure to be happy here.”

The Doctor opened the door and they stepped out onto light green soil. Parn was also known as ‘The Green Planet’ in their planetary system and was well named. The soil was a light-medium green and the grass was dark green in color. In addition, their sky was teal. From space, it was a globe of marbled green.

The Doctor and Rose stood a short distance into a forest and could see a large town from where they were. The trees around them were tall and strong. Their trunks were brownish-grey and crooked and the branches twisted in many directions.

“So here we are,” the Doctor announced. “The town over there is peaceful and quite a cheerful bunch. While they do use wood in much of their construction, this forest is protected by law. No harm should come to you here. Feel free to test it out. See if you and the trees are compatible.”

Two beings sprang free from their vessel and circled a few of the trees. They disappeared inside of two of them and rushed back into the globe.

“Maybe not,” the Doctor said with disappointment. But as soon as he it said it, all the beings flooded out at the same time and each one dived into its own tree.

“Or maybe so,” Rose said with a smile.

“Okay,” The Doctor spoke loudly so that all of them could hear. “I think that means you like it here, but I don’t just want to leave you on that assumption. If you’re happy with this location, can you give me a sign?”

The beings darted back out of the trees, circled the Doctor, and rushed back to their new homes.

“Wonderful!” the Doctor said as he clapped his hands together. “I guess we’ll be going now. Grow strong and happy, friends!”

“And thank you!” Rose shouted. “You really helped us out. Thanks.”

She didn’t know if they could see her of not, but she waved as she turned and walked away with the Doctor.

“So what now, my love? Barber of Seville?” asked the Doctor.

“Maybe some other time. _Definitely_ some other time, but for now… After this mess of an attempt, I think I’d rather not try again today.”

“What shall it be then?” he asked.

“Well, we are on Parn… How about we eat some delicious Ahk-Voo-Lie and follow it up with dancing?”

“Your wish is my command, my wicked witch.” The Doctor twirled her as if they were dancing. Rose smiled broadly and then laughed when she had another look at the Doctor.

“Maybe you want a bath and to get dressed first,” Rose suggested. He was still only wearing his trousers which were dirty and singed at the bottoms of the legs.

“No! No bath. Definitely no bath, not after… Just no bath. Shower: yes. Bath: no,” the Doctor said vehemently.

Rose stared at him quizzically but nodded. “Shower: yes.”

“And I could use a shirt, couldn’t I? And Shoes. Shoes would be good. A bowtie, of course. You know, yeah, full new outfit would be good.”

“I think I could use the same prescription. Shower and clothes. Then Ahk-Voo-Lie!”

“Ahk-Voo-Lie!” he concurred. “And dancing!”

“And dancing! Because we deserve to make merry.”

“Absolutely. The Chenocks aren’t the only ones that need to seek happy. Everyone needs some happy.”

“Agreed. Now off to the shower,” Rose ordered.

“Shower!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There it is. I hope you enjoyed it. I'm going to start posting the next story in this series today. It's called 'One Too Many' and features the Tenth Doctor, too!


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